Author: appletraveler

“Cheap luxury cruises” may sound oxymoronic, but they are available. Remember, whereas with other vacations you need to pay for your travel, hotel, food, and entertainment, when you are you are on a cruise, all of these costs are all bundled into one!

Yes, you will have to find a way to get to the cruise ship, but once you are on it, you are set in terms of money. Your cruise ship is your source of travel, and you have already paid for it. And, of course, you will be sleeping on the cruise ship, so you do not have to worry about finding a hotel each place you go to. There are some beautiful, luxurious rooms available on cruise ships. Some of these rooms even have balconies. Continue reading “What a Luxury Cruise Fare Includes”→

The castle of Saint Barbara stands on top of Monte Benacantil with a gorgeous scenic view of the Spanish landscape of Alicante.

Standing 166m high, it is definitely the most prominent landmark in this city and possibly one of the biggest fortresses built during the Middle Ages in Spain. Built by the Muslims in the eighth century, it was re-conquered by King Alfonso X de Castilla in the 12th century, on Saint Barbara’s day.

La Cara del Moro Mountain

From the Beach of el Postiguet, if you look towards the Castillo de Santa Barbara, you may notice that the mountain upon which the castle stands has the shape of the profile of a human face. This is known as “La Cara del Moro” and appears in many postcards and even in Alicante´s coat of arms.

How to Get to the Castle of Santa Barbara

While walking up to Santa Barbara Castle, first you will encounter the neighborhood of la Santa Cruz. Its bright white houses along the narrow streets are full of flowers, contrasting with the blue sky and it is a real pleasure to contemplate. Then you will arrive at park Ereta. If you are already tired, you can sit and grab a bite to eat at a nice panoramic restaurant with an excellent view of the old town. It is even easier to take the elevator at Postiguet Beach and reach all the way up to the Castle.

Things You Should See Inside the Castle

The Castle of Santa Barbara has many interesting things to see, like the palace, cannons and war artifacts, a moat, a lookout tower and the dark dungeons below. La Sala Noble, the chambers of Philip II, el Baluarte de la Reina and the Baluarte de los Ingleses are very interesting places to visit.

A famous fresh water fountain is La Font del Gat, where for nearly two hundred years people have been taking its water to drink at home. A popular Catalan folk song mentions this place in its lyrics. (Walking down from the “Cat Fountain”, a soldier and a girl come back from a tryst.) This song describes the popularity of the gardens of Montjuic as a place for couples to spend some private time together.

The Castle has had some military presence in the last couple of centuries, with a Guard Wing and the garrison courtyard. For a while the castle was used as a prison, but then was abandoned for a long time, until 1963 when it was again opened to the general public.

Live Concerts in the Castle

In the garrison courtyard, on certain summer evenings, people can attend live concerts and performances for free. Don’t miss the opportunity of experiencing and listening to music in a medieval castle under the moonlight, on a warm evening!

Taipei is one of the cities of Taiwan. It is a very good place to holiday in for those who love the action of the big city. Taiwan is a place with a lot of sulfur springs, spas and hotels. One of the popular sulfur pits is Bei Tou. Bei Tou is on top of a mountain near to Yang Ming Mountain National Park. There are a lot of cheap hotels at Bei Tou. Travel agents also like to sell the hot spring resorts at Bei Tou in their vacation packages.

Their hot spring resort is like a chalet, each chalet is three stories high with four bedrooms and a kitchen. There is a basement an each chalet that houses a natural stone tub hot spring. Besides our own personal hot spring, we can enjoy a variety of hot springs at the resort. There are natural hot spring made into a swimming pool like complex with waterfall. There are also hot springs with Jacuzzi built into the hot spring. Continue reading “Best Deals For Hot Spring Resorts in Taiwan”→

People have an irrepressible yen to travel. We painstakingly save money to wayfare at least once a year. We sweat and slave hard and long to sock away some funds to afford that oasis of respite after all. Naturally, we want to have the best for less. We desperately are in constant search for a decent travel package; and we have some comfort requirements that we want to fit into that constricted budget.

With the onslaught of travel websites and online consolidators, searching for a budget travel package has become more of a pain in the neck. Thousands of travel deals are now accessible online that we can book at the click of a mouse. Our task now is to find the best one from a variety of choices that will conform to our budget and points of interest. Continue reading “How To Travel On A Shoestring Budget”→

When I started on a five month long tour to India, I had no idea what was in store for me. I was not even sure why I planned on a tour to India. May be I was just too fascinated by the lifestyles of the Indian Maharaja’s and wanted to see and experience for myself their lives and their palaces. My interest in Indian palaces and forts developed by reading books like ‘India Style’ by ‘Monisha Bharadwaj’, ‘The Indian Princes and their States’ by ‘Barbara N. Ramusack’, ‘The Indian Subcontinent’ by ‘Alison Arnold’ and ‘Indian temples and palaces’ by Michael Edwardes. Continue reading “A Journey To The Palace Hotels Of India”→